
Other activities have been lost or reduced in the face of dwindling
participation by members. The regular butterfly walks have been in
abeyance for two years. Our birdbox expert Clive Smith has been unable
to carry out his observations of nesting patterns in addition to maintaining
the boxes, which will soon be relocated to make them more accessible.
The Boxing Day Walk will be revived this year, after two blank years. The
Friends’ Committee is in need of renewal, as its officers have been
unchanged since 2017, and it is now reduced to a bare minimum of three
members, two of advancing age. While we have a large number of
supporters, we do urgently need more active members to coordinate
activities, to represent the Friends at community days, to organise
meetings and outdoor events, and to gain the experience to allow them
to take over the main committee roles when the current officers take a
well-earned rest. We would dearly like to recruit a butterfly walks
coordinator, an events coordinator, a fundraising coordinator, a birdbox
assistant, and more work party volunteers and coordinators. We know
how much the community values Raleigh Park as a local resource, and
how much the City Council and our stakeholders value the input of an
active Friends group. All we need are more active Friends!
It was in 1926 that Raleigh Park was gifted to the people of Oxford by
Raymond ffennell, whose other environmental benefactions include Hill
End and Wytham Woods. We need new members now to help prepare a
suitable celebration. Please talk to any member of the Committee about
future participation, or join us in the park in December to plant out
seedlings of wetland plants raised by the GroWet project, on Boxing Day
for mulled wine and a walk, or in January for our annual search for the
eggs of the elusive Brown Hairstreak butterfly. Notices of work parties
and other events will be found on our website. You can email us on
raleighpark@btinternet.com and raleighpark@raleighpark.org.uk
Stephen Parkinson, David Brown, Adam Bows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oxford Christmas Lunch
is happening again in 2023! It'll be at The King's Centre, Oxford on
Christmas Day 12.30-4pm. To book a place and transport, or to volunteer,
contact Sara on sara@oxfordchristmaslunch.org or call her on 07535
314716.
Entertainers also needed! If you can balloon twist, juggle, costume
dance, stilt-walk, clown or do magic, etc, and would like to volunteer at
this lovely event, please contact them on the same email!!!